Character Development and Show, Dont’t Tell

Several days ago, when I was searching the Internet for something to blog about, I stumbled across two blogs.  I have not been able to find either of them since, so this blog will be about what I remember.

One of the blogs started with something like this:  “When I am looking for a book to read, I flip through the first ten pages.  If I find half of the first ten pages have no dialog, or there is less than half a page of dialog on each of the first ten pages, I reject the book.  It’s not a book I want to read.  The author is telling the story, not showing the story.”

I recently read a novel, that shall remain nameless, that averaged one page of dialog in fifteen pages of the book.  It was a report of what had happened to the hero and his friends.  It was not an adventure  novel.  (I plan to blog about show, don’t tell in several up coming blogs.  It’s an important rule about writing that I broke consistently in my early writing.)

I have have been reading a lot of books I decided not to review because I thought my review would be tainted because I am also an author.  I would be reviewing the book from the perspectives of what I have learned through research about what a good book entails.  I plan to spend some time reviewing some of the books I’ve read, and compile a list of the ones I think are following basic rules of writing, specifically, SHOW, DON’T TELL.  I think I was helped by readers telling me what I was doing that was right (and wrong).  My list of writers following the Show, Don’t Tell rule might give readers of this blog some insight into the books not to read.

The second blog I haven’t been able to find again had a few ideas about developing characters.  The blog’s author started by asking a question:  Why do readers read YOUR books?  Is it because you are able to create tension (similar to Steven King), you write a good adventure story (Tom Clancy), or you include humor (Elmore Leonard)?  All three of those author’s use a similar method to attract readers — they develop the characters into someone the reader can become friends with, be terrified of, or laugh at.

Character development can make or break a story.  We will likely be uninterested in a fuzzy character, especially the protagonist or hero.  However, a well defined character can become our best friend.

After I discovered Travis McGee in 1964 (I eventually read all 21 of the series), I had a new best friend.  My new friend lived in Florida, was a personal salvage engineer (he retrieved things taken from his clients), and he had a Rolls-Royce named “Miss Alice” he’d converted to a pick-up truck.

The blog had in interesting suggestion about character development:  visit a mall or your local big box store with a notebook, find a seat, and start describing the people walking past you.  Two things will happen:  1) you’ll learn more about describing your characters; and 2) you’ll develop a library of new characters.  Both are good for your writing.

What are you looking for when you go to your mall?  All of the basics:  height; hair color; notable features; clothing; how the person walks; people they are with; all of the ways to describe someone.  Naturally, you won’t be able to catalog emotions, purpose, or the basic reason why they went to the mall (unless you watch them walk into a specific store, or see which retailer’s packages they are carrying in their arms.   But, you will be able to develop some character sheets for future use in your novels.

Over the next few days, I plan to find and blog about Show, Don’t Tell, and character development.  You can also go back through older blogs on The Author’s Club blog site to find previous blogs I’ve made about Show, Don’t Tell and developing characters.  Take a look.  You might find something that will help your writing.

#RClintPeters #TheAuthorsClub